Avocado salad
Serves 4
| 2 | tablespoons sake |
| 2 | tablespoons water |
| 5 | tablespoons sweet white miso |
| 1 | tablespoon sugar |
| 1 | egg yolk |
| 1/8 | teaspoon soy sauce |
| 1/2 | cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced |
| 1/2 | cup dried wakame (available at a Japanese market), reconstituted in warm water |
| 2 | ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, and thickly sliced |
| 1/4 | cup sesame seeds, toasted and partially ground |
2. In a mortar, grind the miso, sugar, and egg yolk to a smooth paste. Add the sake and water mixture little by little, working until the mixture is smooth. Add the soy sauce.
3. Fill a bowl with ice water; set it aside.
4. Transfer the miso mixture to the top of a double boiler, and cook the sauce over simmering water, stirring constantly, for 6 to 8 minutes or until the sauce thickens without scrambling. Immediately transfer the top of the double boiler to the bowl of ice water. Let it sit, stirring often, until the bottom of the pan is no longer hot. Wipe the bottom of the pan.
5. In each of 4 shallow bowls, arrange avocado, wakame, and cucumber in neat clusters. Add some of the dressing to each one. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Adapted from Suzuki's Sushi Bar
